Syntax
SHORTCUT [options]
Key
Source options
-t target : The path and file name of the application/document to open.
-a arguments : The arguments passed when the shortcut is used.
-d directory : The folder to start the application in.
-i iconfile : The file the icon is in.
-x index : The index into the icon file.
options for the shortcut file to be created
-n name : The path and file name (.LNK) of the shortcut file.
-c : Change existing shortcut.
-r : Resolve broken shortcut.
-f : Force overwrite of an existing short cut.
-s : Make shortcut simple (don’t use LinkResolve)
Export options
-u [spec] : ECHO the contents of an existing shortcut.
'all' is the same as 'natdix' but the letters
of 'natdix' specify the options to be exported
(the same option can be specified more than once
e.g. -u natn)
-l logfile : Save any error messages in the specified file

If shortcut.exe fails to create a new shortcut, it does NOT set
an errorlevel.

Shortcut NTFS file system tracking

If a shortcut to a file breaks because the destination file has moved, then by default Windows will attempt to automatically locate the shortcut destination by performing a search or matching file properties. This
can be turned on or off in the registry:

Shortcut Auto LinkResolve

By default shortcuts will include the destination machine, even for a target like C:\MyFile.doc
This is not immediately visible until the shortcut.LNK file is copied to another machine, the shortcut target will then be automatically updated to point
back to \\Machine1\c$\MyFile.doc
To turn this behaviour off use shortcut.exe -s or add a DWORD value of 1 to the registry (before creating the shortcut):